Thanks Evan for the review - as a result I bought the book. It is an absorbing read. Jelaine's exuberance shines through. Through her book I feel I experienced nudism in Florida and elsewhere in the 1970s and 80s. In some places she is breathtakingly candid and in others I feel she is drawing a veil. What fascinated me was her open and almost joyful acceptance of the commodification of sex through the nude pageants and plays while at the same time there is an undercurrent of resentment and rejection of that explicit sexualisation. For me this was the best aspect of the book - the honest depiction of what Jelaine's experience as a young female nudist felt like. The adult context, because it is seen through a child's eyes, is largely implied but I can't help feeling that for her parents, and especially her mother, the sexuality of her daughters and young female friends was an important selling point ensuring the success of the club. It seemed to me that this honesty, even if unique to Seminole, reflected the commodification of sex that was growing rapidly through the 70s. As Jelaine observes somewhere, the difference between her as a nudist actress and pageant competitor and a Playboy model was that she kept her legs together. Now, forty or so years later, maybe even that distinction has disappeared...
Are signed copies available?
very well written book review..It's excellent...
Thanks Evan for sharing more information about a part of the history of nudism. I certainly enjoyed the review and look forward to reading the book.
Thanks Evan for the review - as a result I bought the book. It is an absorbing read. Jelaine's exuberance shines through. Through her book I feel I experienced nudism in Florida and elsewhere in the 1970s and 80s. In some places she is breathtakingly candid and in others I feel she is drawing a veil. What fascinated me was her open and almost joyful acceptance of the commodification of sex through the nude pageants and plays while at the same time there is an undercurrent of resentment and rejection of that explicit sexualisation. For me this was the best aspect of the book - the honest depiction of what Jelaine's experience as a young female nudist felt like. The adult context, because it is seen through a child's eyes, is largely implied but I can't help feeling that for her parents, and especially her mother, the sexuality of her daughters and young female friends was an important selling point ensuring the success of the club. It seemed to me that this honesty, even if unique to Seminole, reflected the commodification of sex that was growing rapidly through the 70s. As Jelaine observes somewhere, the difference between her as a nudist actress and pageant competitor and a Playboy model was that she kept her legs together. Now, forty or so years later, maybe even that distinction has disappeared...
Very interesting comments! Thanks for sharing